The next level (Discus)

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Dubs1281

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jun 30, 2013
Messages
611
I've had discus since October and have learned a lot. Unfortunately I have lost 2 of the original 5.
I still have some questions.
I have soft water but my ph is around 7.8. I bought a ph conditioner today and it should arrive Friday. Do you guys trust buffers?

As for food. I feed them beefheart, brine shrimp, bloodworms, freeze dried bl worms, and omega one protein formula. They are not fans of the new life spectrum pellets. I have a male and female sword tail so the can eat the fry. Should I add another female to supply more?

I do around a 50% wc weekly. 20 gallons of RO. Then 10-15 tap.

They are beautiful but I think they have so much more potential. Any help is greatly appreciated.
75 gallon. 7.8 ph. 84°. Soon to be heavily planted.
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Never trust the chemical adjusters. Most discus will happily adapt to your PH, sudden changes can actually kill them. I'm similar to you, with a PH of 7.8, and my discus are happy and healthy. Your def doing things right, they look happy and well fed, good luck!
 
I started a few months ago another discus tank with very small 1 1/2" discus, eight of them, lost two, the rest have grown nicely, it is a slow process with this fish and challenging when they are this small.
No special water, just out of the tap using Prime and pH is around 7.4, I do very frequent water changes, temp around 86f.
I feed them blood worms, brine shrimp and got them to eat flakes, I was recommended Omega Marine Flakes with Garlic and they love it. I feed them about 3-4 times daily for now while young.
I also give them small pellets but I soak them in water so they get soft or just let them sink and they eat them from the bottom of the tank.
I stay away from additives, chemicals, medicines etc. doesn't have to be complicated, just dedicated,it's worked for me in the past and is working now.

What kind of discus do you have? I took 8 turquoise from a local breeder.
 
Never trust the chemical adjusters. Most discus will happily adapt to your PH, sudden changes can actually kill them. I'm similar to you, with a PH of 7.8, and my discus are happy and healthy. Your def doing things right, they look happy and well fed, good luck!


I second that. Buffers will not keep a stable pH, it will drop the pH but not for long. A stable pH is more important as long as it's not off the charts.
My tap water is around 7.8 but the tank has lots of driftwood which keeps it at around 7.4
 
My tank has two huge pieces of dw but I hate the brown tint it gives the water do I use bio chem Zorn to remove it.

I dont know what I have because I bought them off a guy on craigslist. Here's some more pics. Maybe you can help. Im sure the little guy is a cobalt blue. The one in the first pic is a lot more blue than the camera makes him.
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Nice! And nice size. Mine are just starting to show color now and they could very well be cobalt blue as well, I'll put up some pics sometime soon. There are so many strains out there! The picture where is showing all three, I like the one way in the back.
 
He was the first picture of my second post. I am hoping to score a deal on two more discus in the next couple days! I'll keep you posted.

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